Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Aug 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse (8) celebrates after an interception by Cleveland Browns linebacker Justin Jefferson (17) against the New England Patriots during the second half at Huntington Bank Field.
The Cleveland Browns are off to a surprising 5-3 start to the 2026 NFL season and right in the hunt to win the AFC North. But things have also seemingly started to come unglued in recent days, and there may well be issues in the locker room.
The problems began with a blowout loss at the hands of the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh rolled past Cleveland, 27-6, to take the lead in the AFC North standings. On top of that, Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a concussion that will keep him out at least a week.
Oh, and the Steelers also appeared to have caused some discourse in the Cleveland locker room.
#Browns DE Jared Verse says he was upset his teammates didn’t stand up for him after #Steelers G Mason McCormick threw him to the turf—and he had that conversation with them.
“That honestly could have put me in a position to not be able to finish the season, put me in a position to change my life in a very bad aspect.”
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 5, 2026
Jared Verse Isn’t Happy With His Cleveland Browns Teammates
Defensive end Jared Verse is in his first season with the Browns after being traded the Rams’ blockbuster move to acquire Myles Garrett.
But the 26-year-old has struggled mightily in his first year in Cleveland, failing to record a sack through eight games. On top of that, Verse doesn’t feel as if his teammates have his back after they failed to come to his defense when he was slammed to the ground by Steelers offensive lineman Mason McCormick.
#Browns DE Jared Verse has been talking plenty of trash about the #Steelers….
Well, Steelers G Mason McCormick just did this to him. 😳😳
https://t.co/OP1iknS4JP
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 1, 2026
“The lack of reaction by those around me upset me a lot,” Verse said on Thursday. “… A similar play happened to Derek Barnett on I think the next field goal, and I lost it because it was my brothers and my teammates. And when you do something like that to him, it upsets me very deeply. …
“That’s a conversation that we’ve had and spoken about … I’ve made my issues known about the situation, but also I didn’t put them in a position to let them know beforehand I was going to talk the way I talked to the Steelers and Steelers Nation or whatever they are. I got to be better than that. I didn’t do enough on my part. We all got to pick it up.”
Locker room unity is highly underrated in football. It’s extremely difficult for a divided locker room to succeed on a week-to-week basis. So if the Browns want to make a real playoff push, they’d better all get on the same page in a hurry.